Canada’s bank deposit insurance limits being reviewed after SVB collapse, trade group says
Global News
The Bank and Trust Companies Association, which has called for coverage to be doubled, says the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation is reviewing the current regime.
Canada’s bank deposit insurer is reviewing deposit insurance limits to safeguard the country’s financial system, the head of the Bank and Trust Companies Association said on Tuesday, after the trade group called for better coverage.
The group, representing the country’s medium and small banks, wrote to Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland last month urging the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation (CDIC) to double its coverage to $200,000 per depositor.
Canada has the lowest level of deposit insurance among G7 countries, the letter dated Feb. 7 said.
“The CDIC is reviewing their depositor insurance regime to make sure that it is effective,” said Andrew Moor, chair of the group, in an interview. “They are always trying to make sure that things are relevant.”
CDIC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In an email, a spokesperson for Freeland said the government was committed to a “strong deposit insurance framework.”
About 65% of deposits at Canada’s top six banks — Royal Bank of Canada, TD Bank, Bank of Montreal, CIBC, Scotiabank and National Bank of Canada — are uninsured, according to DBRS Morningstar.
In addition, the U.S. subsidiaries of the top six have uninsured deposits ranging between 30% and 70%, DBRS estimates.
